CLUCK (Citizens Lobbying for Urban Chicken Keeping) is a group working in support of backyard hens in Sarasota.
We've had success in the city and are turning our efforts to the County.
Write to volunteer, show support or ask questions at
sarasotacluck@gmail.com
And check out our Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118190386787&ref=ts
All we are saying is: Give Peeps A Chance.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Brooklyn Resident Megan Paska (winner of Huffpost Green's Cutest Beekeeper Contest) has posted an essay Urban Chicken-Keeping and Staying on the Neighbor's Good Side, which acknowledges that neighbor's reactions to pet hens can change through time. And while we'd like to believe those reactions trend positively, Paska acknowledges that relations can sour. In her case a pregnant neighbors heightened sense of smell created some chicken friction. Her solution -- move the coop, a response anticipated by our local City ordinance that requires a movable coop.

Chicks: A Good Choice

A flock of chicks can help families from Cameroon to the Caribbean add nourishing, life-sustaining eggs to their inadequate diets.

The protein in just one egg is a nutritious gift for a hungry child. Protein-packed eggs from even a single chicken can make a life-saving difference.

Heifer helps many hungry families with a starter flock of 10 to 50 chicks. A good hen can lay up to 200 eggs a year - plenty to eat, share or sell. With Heifer recipients' commitment to pass on the offspring and training, the exponential impact of adding chickens to communities in poverty is truly a model that helps end hunger and poverty.

Because chickens require little space and can thrive on readily available food scraps, families can make money from the birds without spending much. And chickens help control insects and fertilize gardens.

In Tanzania, Omari and Kulwa were struggling to raise a family on just 50 cents a day. With the training and chicks they received from Heifer, egg sales have boosted their daily income to $2, so they can now buy food and still pay school fees. Now, through passing on the gift, all of the children in their village are going to school.